CE, UKCA, UKNI – product markings at one glance
The exit of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union has resulted in new requirements for manufacturers and importers who distribute their products in the UK.
UKCA applies in England, Scotland and Wales
Since 1.1.2021, the UKCA marking applies to Great Britain instead of the previous CE marking. UKCA stands for UK Conformity Assessed and is used for goods placed on the market in England, Scotland or Wales. However, to give companies time to adapt to the new requirements, you can still use the CE marking in most cases until 1 January 2022 (Update: 1 January 2023).
What about Northern Ireland?
Exception proves the rule: UKCA labelling does not apply in Northern Ireland. Here EU conformity markings continue to be used to show that goods meet EU rules. For most manufactured goods, this is the CE marking.
To make even more complicated: If you are using a UK body to carry out mandatory third-party conformity assessment, then you also need to apply a UKNI marking You never apply the UKNI marking on its own – it always accompanies an EU conformity marking, such as the CE marking. Goods with both the CE and UKNI marking cannot be placed on the market in the EU.
Here you can find an overview of the accepted product labels for the various markets.
Market |
Type of good |
Accepted marking or combination of markings* |
|
European Union (EU) |
Manufactured goods being placed on the EU market |
CE |
|
Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales) |
Manufactured goods being placed on the GB market until 31.12.2021 |
UKCA or CE |
|
|
Manufactured goods placed on the GB market from 1.1.2023 |
UKCA |
|
Northern Ireland |
Manufactured goods being placed on the market in NI using an EU conformity assessment body |
CE |
|
|
Manufactured goods being placed on the market in NI using a UK-based body |
CE and UKNI |
|
Placing qualifying Northern Ireland goods on the market in Great Britain (unfettered access) |
Qualifying Northern Ireland goods being placed on the GB market under unfettered access |
CE or CE and UKNI |
*You may use combinations of the product markings listed in each box and your goods may be acceptable with more than one marking. For example, a product with both the CE and UKCA markings can be placed on the EU market. However, for the EU market the CE mark must appear without the UKNI indication as goods bearing the ‘CE and UKNI’ marking are not acceptable in the EU market. This means these goods must be manufactured to EU rules and cannot be assessed by a body based in the UK.
Source: GOV.UK
Do you need support with the marking of your electrical and electronic products? We give you the assurance that you bring your products onto the market in conformity. Feel free to contact us about our CE service or UKCA service.